These Hokey Pokey Biscuits are a New Zealand classic! Made with only 4 basic ingredients... they're quick, easy and so delicious.
When I was little, my Mum used to make Hokey Pokey biscuits all the time. If you're from New Zealand (like Mum is), then you'll be super familiar with the deliciousness that is hokey pokey. Whenever we would go over to New Zealand to visit my granddad, the very first thing we would do (after stopping to buy L&P at Paeroa that is), would be to go to the supermarket and buy a tub of hokey pokey ice cream. Back then you couldn't buy it in Australia, so it was a super exciting thing!
Now I'm pretty sure that Mum's hokey pokey recipe was either a family handwritten one or from the Edmund's cookbook. Either way, I couldn't track the original down! But these 4 Ingredient Hokey Pokey Biscuits are just as good as I remember. They are a little bit different from Mum's traditional recipe which was made with milk - but otherwise they're pretty spot on!
If you haven't ever tried hokey pokey, it's like a yummy caramel-type flavour (the ice cream is filled with little honeycomb toffee balls... YUM!). But these biscuits get their beautiful caramel flavour from the brown sugar and golden syrup.
Oooh and I nearly forgot to mention that these are quite possibly the easiest biscuits you'll ever make. You only need one saucepan (or one Thermomix bowl), a sieve and a spoon... there's no beaters or anything fancy involved at all. Love, love, love that!
I like my hokey pokey biscuits to be quite thick and soft, so I usually only press the dough balls down lightly and then cook them for no longer than 10 minutes. If you prefer your biscuits harder and flatter, just press the dough balls down a bit more before baking (but remember that they will still spread) and cook for a couple of extra minutes.
After I baked this batch of hokey pokey biscuits, I remembered that Mum used to use a fork to press hers down before baking, which gave them a lovely appearance (I must, MUST remember to do that next time... bummer!) It's so annoying when you remember those little tidbits of information too late!!
Anyway, the New Zealander's certainly know how to make great stuff - hokey pokey biscuits, fish and chips, lolly Eskimos and chocolate marshmallow fish... but my favourite New Zealand export, is of course, my mum.
xxx
4 Ingredient Hokey Pokey Biscuits
Ingredients
- 60 g unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup (115g) golden syrup
- ⅓ cup (60g) brown sugar
- 1½ cup (225g) self-raising flour sifted
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
- Melt the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar together in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until all of the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- Sift the self-raising flour on top of the caramel liquid. Stir until a soft dough forms.
- Form tablespoon sized balls with the dough and place onto the baking trays.
- Press down lightly with a fork.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until just golden.
- Leave on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days (the cookies will soften over time).
Thermomix Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
- Place the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar into the TM bowl. Melt for 2 minutes, Speed 2, 80 degrees. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Melt for a further 2 minutes, Speed 2, 80 degrees. Leave to cool slightly.
- Add the self-raising flour to the TM bowl and mix on Speed 2 for 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat.
- Form tablespoon sized balls with the dough and place onto the baking trays. Press down lightly with a fork.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until just golden. Leave on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days (the cookies will soften over time).
Nutrition
Kathryn
Hi, the NZ recipe uses baking soda to make a hokey pokey type mixture (milk and syrup melted together and then add baking soda and it foams up) that you mix into creamed butter and sugar. I made some this morning, delicious. I haven’t tried this recipe. Yet!
Monica Seet
So so yummy. We love this recipe with the addition of powdered ginger to give it a bit of a kick.
Lucy
How delicious!!
Bron
I’d never tried or heard of hokey pokey biscuits but this is now a well, and regularly used recipe in our home. Thank you Lucy.
We roll them quite small (to fit in bento school lunch boxes) as an added bonus to this, they take no more than 6 minutes in the oven (we also appreciate them more soft).
My littlies help me making the biscuits, their favorite job being to press the fork on top, as such they are affectionately named “stripey biscuits”.
The biscuits freeze remarkably well and we keep the freezer stocked so we can add these little treats easily and quickly over the school term. We do also make larger ones as an even bigger treat by using these for ice cream sandwiches, delicious.
Lucy
That's absolutely fantastic to hear Bron!! Thank you for all your feedback and tips!